Say It Right, Say It Now
by MyDarkAliasIsHPScully17
Summary: Just a little something that I cooked up while obsessing over the new Nelly Furtado. I know, weird right. Babefic, so if you're a Cupcake....BEWARE!
1. Prologue

_DisclaimerI do not own any of the characters in the Stephanie Plum series, but I would do anything to have just a few minutes of Ranger's time. ;)_

_This is a songfic, because I am currently obsessed with Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right". Thus the story title and the subsequent lyric use. If you haven't heard this song, download it now. If you do own it, I recommend listening to it while you read. I am going to conveniently forget that Morelli is in the picture, so think of he and Steph ina very off stage in their relationship. This is my first Janet story that I've ever written, so try not to be TOO harsh, but reviews are appreciated. Enjoy!_

**Say It Right, Say It Now**

**Prologue**

Sometimes you think that your life is just plain sucky. You might have a place to live, food to eat, a job, friends, a nice family…but sometimes other forces intervene. It can be the little things that get to you. My name is Stephanie Plum and my life is FULL of little things.

First, there's my job. I am currently employed as a bounty hunter. Heh. How to begin? It can be good money, if you're good at it, too bad for me. It can be exciting, if you thrive on getting shot at, again…too bad for me. Lately I've been thinking that maybe I use my job as an excuse to have a crappy life. If I keep getting kidnapped and shot at and knocked down, then I will always have something to complain about. And maybe I thrive just a little.

Then there is my family. It's funny how different you can turn out from your family, and still be exactly the same. My mother wants me to grow up and get married. My dad just wants to watch TV. And I think my Grandma Mazur would give up anything to HAVE my problems with men and my job.

There are two men in my life. If you're thinking that makes me lucky, you're thinking wrong. One of them is over 6 feet of Italian perfection with a badge. The other is…well...think Batman, only Cuban and with a better body. And they both carry multiple weapons on their person at all times. Someday soon THAT little thing is gonna get explosive.

The problem with having two men in your life is that, sooner or later, you will have to choose between them. Choosing can be the most emotionally painful thing you can ever do.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Just a little harder, Babe."

"I'm going as hard as I can, Ranger. We're not all superhuman like you. And I feel

stupid being this rough."

That earned me a sigh and one of the trade-mark almost smiles. A few months ago, when I was kidnapped yet again, I decided that I needed to start taking control of my life…well at least my job. I went to my favorite superhero and made a deal: I would work for Rangeman three days a week doing his background searches, if he would train me to be a bounty hunter. Sounded like a good idea at the time.

"It's a punching bag, Steph, it's supposed to get hit."

I rolled my eyes, in total Burg fashion, and did what any Burg girl would do in my place; I pouted.

"Well, if you're gonna make fun of me…"

"I'm not making fun, I'm just trying to get you to let go and hit the bag. It's the easiest thing in the world."

This is how most of the training sessions have gone so far. We're three months in, and I have markedly improved. Even Ranger said so. I was catching skips more easily, I was more comfortable with my gun. I was more toned and I didn't want to die every time I went running. Life is good. Or…you know…better.


	3. Chapter 2

_Okay, so I swear that these chapters are so much longer when I write them than when they get formatted for the site. This one is a little better, ad you're lucky it got put up. My internet crapped out on me, and I had to go to a friend's house to post it. Hope you enjoy it. BTW…the rating might get upgraded later…I thought this was gonna be a short story, but I just keep thinking of things to add._

**Chapter 2**

**A month later…**

I groaned as my cell rang. I had assumed my best thinking position face-down on my bed, and of course, promptly fell asleep. I looked at the clock on my bedside table, it read 6:03 p.m. Urgh! I reached over and pressed talk.

"Hmmm…"

"Hard day?"

A thrill shot through me at the sound of his voice. He'd been gone to God knows where for the last three weeks, and I only just realized how much I missed him.

"Ranger?" I whispered.

"Babe," he said. I could hear a smile in his voice. My surprise was funny to him.

"You don't call, you don't write. What's a girl to think?"

"Sorry, Steph. I was a little out of range for the last couple of weeks. Tank kept an eye

on you for me. He would have gotten in touch with me if it was an emergency."

For some reason the fact that he thought it was just OK to leave without saying goodbye, as long as I had a bodyguard, made me not so happy that he was back. Suddenly I was furious.

"I don't need a bodyguard, Ranger. It would have been better if you had just told me that

you were leaving! I showed up for our training session and Lester told me that you

were already gone. He even mentioned that HE thought it was strange that you didn't

tell me you were gonna be out of reach for a while!"

"Babe…"

"You know what? Don't _Babe_ me because you screwed up. I don't really care if you're

sorry!"

And I hung up. Hmmm. That could be a really dumb move. Hanging up on Batman doesn't exactly increase your life expectancy, but I couldn't seem to muster up any care. Now I was jazzed. I was all high on my self-righteous attitude. Serves him right! Ha! I got up and put on some running clothes; I needed to think and work off some of this crazy energy. I took the elevator to the lobby, and I set off at a steady pace around what I had come to think of as my normal route. How weird is that? I have a _normal_ running route. My mother should be proud.

As I set off around my building I couldn't help but think about the fact that I really shouldn't care if Ranger leaves without warning. I have no claim to him, no ties. We only spent the one night together, and I know he doesn't want a relationship. And, of course, try as I might I couldn't get this train of thought out of my head. I had just made a fool out of myself AGAIN! The farther I ran the more depressed I got. At three miles, I was on the verge of turning around when I heard a very distinctive noise: the engine of a Porsche Turbo. Since Ranger is the only one who owns that particular car in the area, I got a little afraid, a little turned on, and, I'm not ashamed to say, just a little happy that he would come all the way over here just to yell at me in person. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him park the Turbo and get out. He fell easily in step with me.

"Babe," he said as he pulled along beside me. "Glad to see that you haven't given up on

the exercise." And he smiled. A real smile. All 200 watts. The smug bastard. I

tersely ignored him again. "Babe…"

"Didn't we just have this conversation?" I asked. And then immediately regretted it.

He put his hand around my arm to stop my pace. I tried to resist, but don't forget who were talking about here. Bad-ass Batman. Ring any bells?

"Steph, stop," Ranger said with a little force. "Just talk to me okay? Please?"

Damn that please. It gets me every time. How dare he say "please" to me!

"What do you want me to say, Ranger? I'm not sorry that I hung up on you, but I am

sorry that I made it such a big deal. I don't have any strings on you. You're a big boy

and you can do whatever you want."

The look that he gave me told me that was the wrong thing to say. His eyes darkened and his whole countenance changed.

"Is that what you think? That you have no control over me? No say?" He was glowering

at me, and there was a look in his eye that I had never seen there. It looked suspiciously

like love. "I never thought that anyone would ever have this much control over me."

"Ranger, I…"

"I wake up in the morning and my first thought is you. When I work, I wonder how you

are and if you're safe. The fact that you think you have no 'strings' on me is the farthest

from the truth."

I couldn't meet his gaze, I felt as if my heart was swelling in my chest, "If you care that

much about me then why do you send me back to Morelli like I'm some sort of chore

that you share when it's convenient."


	4. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: See chapter 1._

_Author's Note: Ok so I know that it has been FOREVER since I updated, but things have been insane. My sister has been seriously ill, I wasn't doing that great in classes, new job, blah blah blah…whining over. Here it is the long awaited chapter 3. Or maybe not so long awaited…is anyone still interested in reading this? Let me know. Angela_

_The song lyrics, as I said before, aren't mine. The fabulousness is Nelly Furtado's Say It Right._

**Chapter 3**

The shock on his face was evident, even for someone as non-expressive as Ranger, but the moment was fleeting and replaced by a mixture of sorrow and rage. I hadn't really meant to say that out loud, but it was something I had been thinking about since that night. The only thing that was missing from that embarrassment was the money on the bedside table. It was strange though. Even the aching that night had caused me, the utter heartbreak it had wrought, could not make me regret getting to share my bed with Ranger. Even once. No matter what, I knew that I loved him unconditionally…and that was the scariest thing I could think of, because I wasn't sure if he knew how easily he could shatter me into unintelligible pieces.

We had only taken a few steps from his car before he stopped me, and with flashing eyes he closed the distance between me and the passenger's side doors. I had never truly feared that Ranger would hurt me physically, and I didn't really fear it now, but there was something primal in his eyes that caused a shiver I couldn't stop.

"Is that what you think?" he said so softly I could hardly hear him over my own heartbeat.

"You think I see you as a chore? Something that I'm willing to share?"

I was pretty proud of myself when I was able to take a breath and answer with an almost steady voice.

"I don't really know what to think. You slept with me, and then you barely looked at me

before you left. You kiss me, touch me, act like I mean something to you, but then I

don't even get a goodbye before you skip town for three weeks. I'm having a hard time

getting a read on this, even if it is a situation that **you** control."

That last part came out with a little more venom than I had intended, but once it was out of my mouth I was glad I had it all off my chest. And pinned against a car with less than an inch of space separating Ranger's chest from mine to boot. Hot damn, I was on fire.

_In the day, in the night_

_Say it right, say it all._

_You either got it, or you don't._

_You either stand, or you fall._

_When your will is broken,_

_When it slips from your hands,_

_When there's no time for joking_

_There's a hole in you plan._

He looked haunted for a moment, then sad. The emotion in his gaze was astounding for a moment, it was more than I had ever seen in his usually closed off face…and then he pushed away from the Porsche. He turned away from me and rounded the car. He got behind the wheel and drove away. Somehow this was worse than what I felt that fateful morning after.

_I know it's short AND a teaser but more soon, I promise._


	5. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: Ok, here you go! I have been having a bit of writer's block, I guess because it's been a while since I've worked on this story, so I hope you like it!_

_(LMT comes out TOMORROW!!! Everyone do a little dance with me! I say this meaning that I understand if no one really reads this for a couple of days.)_

_Disclaimer: The characters belong to the goddess currently known as Janet Evanovich. Trust me, if I owned Ranger I could think of plenty of other things to do other that write this fic. The song lyrics are Nelly Furtado's "Say it Right". Also this is kinda stupid, but I have a small lyric correction that I didn't catch in Chapter 3…it's "your plan" not "you plan". I know, I know…but I am an English major and an avid music fanatic and I had to say it right. Get it, "say it right"…I really am the funniest person I know. (If you don't get it, message me and I will be happy to explain my lame joke to you.)_

**Chapter 4**

I was stunned. I couldn't figure out what had just happened, so in true Plum fashion, I simply pretended that it didn't. People might think that I was avoiding the situation, but I frankly had no fucking idea what was going on. I finished my run and took the elevator back up to my apartment…no sense in taking this whole healthy lifestyle thing TOO far. I let myself in my front door, opened my fridge, and downed a bottle of water on the way to my bathroom. I pulled off my sweaty T-shirt and went to my dresser to pick out clothes for the day, when I heard the front door click shut. Panicked, I looked around for a weapon. Of course, being who I was, I had nothing on hand except a snow-globe that my niece Mary Alice had brought me back from DisneyWorld. I hefted the Mickey-shaped weight in my hand, moved behind the bedroom door and waited. I could more feel than hear footsteps drawing closer and I tightened my grip on Mickey's ears. As I had never turned on any lights, everything was suffused with a dull light that only Jersey can provide. I watched a shadow cross the threshold of the room; I prepared to strike. At the last minute I realized that it wasn't an intruder shaped shadow, but a Ranger shaped one. I missed hitting him by inches and only because he had sensed the attack and ducked away from me.

"FUCK!," I yelped. "Jesus, Ranger you scared the shit out of me."

I moved away to set down my "weapon" and I saw his trademark almost grin. He was amused that I almost brained him with a blunt object.

"What?!," I snapped at him. "Does this strike you as funny?"

"Babe," he said with his also trademark almost imperceptible shake of his head. "Were

you really going to hit me in the head with a Mickey Mouse snow-globe?"

His words were only jokingly mocking, I knew, but I guess ignoring the problem wasn't going to work as well as I thought. I was pissed and his flippant remark about my choice of weapon wasn't helping matters.

I spit out, "Can I help you with something, Ranger? Something you forgot to say before

you stormed off?"

_Oh, you don't mean nothing at all to me.  
No you don't mean nothing at all to me,  
But you got what it takes to set me free  
Oh, you could mean everything to me._

I realized he wasn't smiling anymore. He looked different, pensive somehow, like he had made up his mind about something. But he didn't say anything right away, he just looked at me. After a moment I realized that I was having what amounted to a very intense staring contest with Ranger in nothing but a pair of pretty skimpy running shorts and a sports bra. His ESP seemed to be attuned to that fact as well, because a look of desire flashed across his face and his eyes darkened to the color of volcanic rock. I immediately blushed and broke our eye contact to retrieve my shirt. I didn't even turn fully around before Ranger stopped me by pushing me up against the wall beside my bed. His eyes were smoldering, his voice low.

"You won't be needing your shirt," he growled. It was a seemingly simple statement, but

it made me shiver as my blood heated.

_I can't say that I'm not lost and at fault.  
I can't say that I don't love the light and the dark.  
I can't say that I don't know that I am alive,  
And all of what I feel I could show  
You tonight, you tonight._

I was supposed to be mad at him, but when he is this close I can't think straight. I was more coherent than normal, though, and I made a move to push him back. I put both hands on his chest and pushed, but my shove had about as much effect as trying to tame my hair in the rain. Not a whole damn lot. Ranger captured my hands and pressed them against the wall, and he pinned my body with his own. When I felt the hardness of his body against me and I knew I was a goner. He looked me in the eye for a second, as if for permission, before claiming my mouth with his own.

_Muah, ha ha ha ha…that was my evil laugh, in case you weren't sure. Another cliffhanger. I know it's not much longer than the last one, but I blame writer's block and Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone series. If you haven't read them, you should…but not until after LMT, of course. If you are feeling charitable, help me out with my writer's block and send a review with a suggestion. Should Steph and Ranger get it on or get interrupted as usual? Let me know…Angela_

_PS: I'm pretty obsessed with XJerseyGirl's "Name of the Game" and Akasha's "Keep the Faith" right now, so if you're looking for something else Babelicious to read I'd start there. Ya'll rock my world!_


	6. Plea

Ok, so this is for anyone who still has any amount of faith in me AT ALL!!! I haven't forgotten about any of the kind words that I've gotten about this story, and I do intend to continue it SOON! My life has been incredibly hectic; I know that is no excuse, but it's the best I've got. I finally got a new computer and got all of my files copied. I have started the next chapter and hopefully it will be longer than the others.

Please stick with me if you care at all about how this story will go!

How'd everyone like Plum Lucky? I loved it…there is something about that Diesel that gets me going!

And always remember…BABES RULE!!! (he he he…evil laugh and a high five to every available Babe!)


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: The characters and the opportunity to write this story belong to the goddess currently known as Janet Evanovich. Trust me, if I owned Ranger, I could think of plenty of other things to do other than write this fic. The song lyrics are Nelly Furtado's "Say it Right". __You forget how hard this is to do when you take a long break from it.__ I know it's a little short, but I got stuck…STUCK with a capital S. Writer's block is a B-I-T-C-you know what._

_I added a little refresher for all of those still interested…_

**Chapter 5**

_I was supposed to be mad at him, but when he is this close I can't think straight. I was more coherent than normal, though, and I made a move to push him back. I put both hands on his chest and pushed, but my shove had about as much effect as trying to tame my hair in the rain. Not a whole damn lot. Ranger captured my hands and pressed them against the wall, and he pinned my body with his own. When I felt the hardness of his body against me and I knew I was a goner. He looked me in the eye for a second, as if for permission, before claiming my mouth with his own._

The kiss was hard and sexy as hell. My whole body seemed to be on fire. It seemed to be filled with all the emotions that Ranger never showed and all of the promises he never made…but how could I be sure of that? Ranger always qualified his feelings for me, and he almost never showed a shred of feeling. Without warning, I felt tears burning in my eyes. He must have sensed the forthcoming flood, because he pulled away slightly. Our eyes met and held, and I couldn't hold back the torrent. I tried to look away, tried to gain some semblance of control over my stupid, traitorous emotions, but Ranger gripped my chin in one hand.

"Don't," I croaked, hardly able to believe it. I could almost hear Ranger's blank face slam into place. I started to pull away, "I just…" I stuttered. I blew out a harried breath and took a step to the side. I needed to be out of the Ranger-bubble if I was going to be able to make any sense.

He turned his head to track my movement with his eyes. I took a breath and tried to convince myself that he didn't really have ESP. Ranger seemed to watch me with X-Ray vision, and I knew that I had to suck it up and be honest. He was my best friend and I couldn't lose him…but being honest might be the one thing that would push him away.

"You know you can tell me anything, right, Babe? Trust me with anything?"

Trust. That did it. I wanted so badly to believe that I _could _trust him with anything, that I could trust him with my heart.

I held his gaze, "I can't do this when I know that it won't mean the same to you as it does to me."

He gave me an intense look that I couldn't quite read. It was dark and stormy and at first I thought he was angry. But then he cocked his head a little as if pondering a puzzle, and his gaze softened slightly.

"What does it mean to you?"

Yikes! That's the million dollar question. I squirmed slightly and bit my lip. How much should I tell him? Get it over with like pulling off a band-aid, or should I just give a little teaser, play it coy? _It's now or never_, a little nagging voice in my head piped up. _Just jump right in._

So I started from the beginning, "The night of the Scrog thing, when the paramedics were wheeling you out of my apartment, I told Joe that I loved him for the first time."

He looked like he was going to interrupt me, but I put up a hand, "Just let me get this out."

Ranger nodded is barely-there nod, a fraction of an inch, but I could tell.

"When that door opened," I pointed toward my foyer, "I thought I was going to lose it. I knew that it was either you or Joe, knew that one of you was walking into a bullet. I couldn't have screamed even if had been able to…I was frozen with fear. Fear at the thought that I could have chosen which one of you I would have rather seen shot, maybe killed."

My eyes filled with tears, and tried to keep them back.

"I realized that night that I love Joe. I will probably always love Joe. He is a good man and a good friend…he has been there for me when I need him. But I also realized that I'm not in love with Joe. I'm in love with you."

The silence in my apartment was so profound that I had the urge to break something just se there would be a sound. All I could hear was my own heartbeat.

Ranger's gaze was inscrutable. He seemed to be struggling with himself.

_Might as well throw in the whole shootin' __match_my brain shouted, so I continued, "I love you in a way that I have never loved another human being in my entire life. And that scares the crap out of me."

I began to pace. I stopped, took a cleansing breath, and looked him in the eye.

"You want casual….nothing long-term, no commitments, but I could never be causal with you." By now his focus on me had become so complete that I thought I might melt into a puddle on the floor. "Being with you and having you walk away again would be the death of me. I couldn't bear it. So I'm putting a stop to this right now, before I can't turn back."

Ranger's face had an odd look on it. He looked almost at peace. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it, and opened it again.

"I guess the real question is, how do you know what it means to me?" he said in an even voice, barely louder than a whisper.

That sent me reeling. What did that even mean? What could I say to that? _Repeat what he told you._ "You've made it quite clear that I am your friend, but I am your entertainment and that anything you feel for me comes with qualifications."

"Babe." He was shaking his head. SHAKING HIS HEAD! Batman never shook his head. He sighed, "I think it's time that we talk."

_DUN, DUN, DUN…_

_Author's Note: I know I know…__don't shoot me for taking so long! Now that it's been so long since I've written on this, I am having trouble with where it's going to go. Let me know if you like it…or if you don't, but be nice please! And, as always, let me know if you have any suggestions…__Angela_


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